Find out what to say at parent teacher conferences in preschool, kindergarten and first grade. Plus, grab a FREE conference planning form.
tips for successful parent teacher conferences, parent teacher conference forms, resources for parent teacher conferences, advice from veteran teachers
Are you a principal or assistant principal who can't keep up with how many evaluations each teacher needs, how many you've already completed, and did you remember to upload the final evaluation to the state? If so, this organizing hack is for you! In this Google Sheet, you'll be given a place for each teacher name, the number of observations they need throughout the year, and even their planning period so you know when to schedule their post-conference! This sheet truly is a lifesaver, and you have the option to customize it in whatever way you see fit.
Topics for a women's conference can be hard to brainstorm. Here are some ideas to inspire your creative thinking and help you plan your day!
How can we teach writing conferences and small group lessons that meet students' needs yet are still relevant to our whole class goals? In this post, I'll share my personal process and a freebie!
I have been teaching Kindergarten at the same school for the past 7 years. My first year there was when I met my fabby teammate Kim! Well, she had done student lead conferences before and brought the idea to our PLC. We thought we would try it. Long story short...still doing student lead conferences! I love it, the kids love it and the parents love it! Our conferences are scheduled for 20 minutes. We set it up that the first 10 minutes are lead by the Kindergarten student. The last 10 minutes are for me to address specific progress, work samples, and any questions that they may have. I would love to say that I have this great check list of what I share, but I do not! Everyone's work is different. I always try to save a writing sample, some station work, and any other work that catches my eye :-) I also share progress on specific academic areas. I complete an interview with each prior to their conference. We practice the classroom tour and they are ready to go!! Here is a copy of the letter that gets sent home with the P/T conference preference sheet. 2nd Conf. Parent Letter This is the interview that I do with each child. The second page is where the kids draw a face to show how they feel about each subject. They are really honest about this! I usually tell them that they can draw frown, straight, or smile! If they draw a frown, then we talk about why they feel that way. I also always ask them how they think I can help them more with that area! Kindergarten Interview Student Lead Conference The actual conference looks like this: The child comes in and shows the parents around the room. They can show them where they check in for lunch, their desk, their cubby, one of their favorite stations (they also have to explain one activity that they do there). You can have them share their writing piece with them also. Once they are finished, then I have them go on the computer (with the head phones on) and then the parents and I can complete the rest of the conference! They absolutely love it!!
Tweet We are 7 weeks into the school year and gearing up for parent teacher conferences later this week. In our school, we try to schedule all conferences on a Thursday evening or Friday morning. This way if multiple folks need to be involved in the conference, we are all in the building at the same time. The evening hours also work much better for parents. As the math specialist I get invited to attend the difficult conferences. If a student is behind or in some cases very ahead of their peers, I will often be asked to join the conference. Classroom teachers also invite me when they know parents have specific concerns or when it is a student I have a lot of contact with. Sometimes I am asked to sit in on a conference because the parents are very difficult or have expressed opinions about their students math learning that do not show understanding of how or why we are teaching math as we do. Depending on the reason for the conference and what the concerns are, I have many approaches but here are a few things I always do in conference situations. - I like to start on a positive note by sharing a recent piece of student work that illustrates something they can do well or something that shows how far they have come. Because I do so much formative assessment, I have a lot of student work samples available to choose from and can always find something positive. - I then like to have parents share how they think their child is doing and any concerns they have. - I am all about data driven decision making so then I will share any assessments. For primary students this often includes individual interviews, especially if a student is behind. I go over the current assessment results and show their progress over time if applicable. - I show other student work and point out specifically how the work illustrates them progressing or not progressing toward meeting the standard. I also like to explain what the next steps are in terms of what we are working on next. - I prepare myself to answer the hard questions. Why are you teaching it this way instead of that way? These big questions parents have when they are new to my school or my way of thinking about math used to really challenge me. As I have become more experienced and read more research on math education I have been better prepared to answer these questions. I like to show parents that it isn't MY way of teaching that I am going for but rather what the research says works. - I focus on the big mathematical ideas for that grade. For each grade level I can think of 3-5 things that are the most important things kids have and understand in order for them to be successful in the next grade. If a student is behind, I focus the conference on the most important skills and make sure my discussion focuses on how to move a student forward with these big ideas. This year, in addition to my role as a math specialist (part interventionist and part coach), I have 2 groups of students that I am doing the primary math instruction for. This means that I will hopefully get to meet with the parents of kids in these groups because their classroom teachers don't see them for math. To help out with ones I might miss and to keep the classroom teachers up to speed on what their students are doing in math, I have been gathering data and putting together some things that can be shared with parents. One of the things I created for my fourth grade group was this quick reflection on their learning. I loved seeing their responses and it gave me great information about how they are feeling about math! Want to use this with your students? Click on the picture to get it from Google Drive.
Parent teacher conferences can be nerve racking... but not if you are prepared. Check out this post with 9 MUST ask questions for your next conference.
Part of our jobs as teacher is to sit down with parents once or twice a year to discuss their children's progress and to set goals for future success. I always thought it was funny how parents and teachers get together to have these conversations, and to make decisions about a student's learning. For me, the missing link was always the student. As a teacher who has spent (almost) her entire career working with upper grade students, I started to realize that these students really needed to be involved in their own conferences. Why not let students lead the conversation about their progress and goals?? The Benefits of Student-Led Conferences The first year after implementing student-led conferences with my class, the benefits were immediately obvious to me, my students, and their parents.... First, students take ownership and responsibility for their behavior, work habits, and grades. Instead of the teacher "defending" grades or marks for behavior, students must explain to their parents (and teacher) why they earned those marks. Another benefit is that everyone is on the same page!! So much is lost in translation from school to home and home to school. With all parties involved, students, teachers, and parents can come together to discuss a student's needs without blame or excuses. Also, students have more buy-in when setting and working toward goals. When students are able to identify and discuss their own strengths and weaknesses, they have a much easier time setting goals, and doing the work to meet those goals. Most importantly, students feel a sense of pride and maturity when taking part in making decisions about their own education. Conference Checklist I always give my students a checklist to work through when they are leading their conferences. It starts with them welcoming their parents, showing them where to sit, and introducing them to me. Then they continue through the checklist, sharing about what they have learned, how they are doing in class, and eventually their goals. It ends with them thanking their parents for coming, and prompting them to ask any questions. Here is a sample of the checklist that I use: What We're Learning This Year I like for students to start their conferences by sharing what they are learning in class. Often times, this is the first chance that parents get to learn about what goes on in our classroom each day. It also gives students a chance to highlight some of their favorite activities that happen at school. Students usually spend about a minute or two sharing what they are learning. Student Evaluation In the weeks leading up to their conferences, students complete a couple self evaluations. The first asks them to evaluate their behavior and work habits. Then they complete a page about their strengths and weaknesses. This is good jumping off point for setting goals. During the conference, students will briefly share these evaluations. Goal Setting This is the final stage of our student-led conferences. You could have students write goals prior to their conference, or have them write them with their parents present. For the sake of time, I usually have students write their goals before their conference, and then modify them as needed during the conference. I also ask students to share with me and their parents what we can do to help them reach their goals. After all, we're a team and students should realize that they are not alone in achieving their goals! After students have shared their evaluations and goals, and after parents have asked their questions, that is usually when I will step in to share the student's grades and any final thoughts. By the time we reach this point, so many great conversations have already taken place and students are able move forward toward achieving their goals. The conference forms shared in this post are available as a FREE download in my Teacher Shop!! Click on the pic below to access this resource.
One of my favorite parts of reading is independent reading conferences. This post shares ideas and free forms to help get you started.
Every year in my first year classes (12 year olds) I touch on the principles of perspective, at least in its one point form. We do a little art history, take a look at Masaccio and Mantegna. We mak…
Student led conferences are a great way to show leadership in your elementary classroom. These activities are great for the primary grades.
Wondering what to say and do during writing conferences with your students? In this post, I explain how often to confer with students, what a conference includes, and more!
These at home reading tips will help keep children reading at home and loving it too! Reading strategies and tips for parents and teachers of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.
Goal setting is a great way to build student leadership. Learn more about student data notebooks, goal setting, & data tracking.
Are you looking for a new way to host parent teacher conferences? One option to consider is switching to student-led conferences as a way to boost both parent participation and student engagement.
Conference time is coming, and the scramble begins to find forms that work for your classroom. Parent communication isn’t one size fits all and the handouts and forms you need aren’t either. In this post, you find parent-teacher conference forms and handouts that enable you to customize your conference notes, agendas, progress reports, and more to fit the unique needs of your classroom.
One of my favorite projects my students do are watercolor portraits. We pair them up with our biographies writing unit and the parents always love how they turn out. This post outlines how we create
Student led conferences are a great way to show leadership in your elementary classroom. These activities are great for the primary grades.
I owe a huge hug of gratitude to Kathleen at Grosgrain Fabulous. She posted 30 days of sweater embellishments on her blog. In those tutorials she took the most ho-hum sweaters from Goodwill and turned
These beginner cutting activities are great for helping young kids learn how to snip paper and move scissors across paper.
So, you've finished report cards and are getting ready for Parent Teacher Conferences? This FREEBIE contains 100% editable forms that you can use right now! It includes a conference confirmation sheet, a conference schedule, a summary sheet, and my favorite...student self-reflection pages! I like to have the kids fill out the self-reflection pages and then share them at the conferences. Great way for them to think about how they've been doing and to set some goals for the next quarter. To download this freebie, click here. Hope your conferences go really smoothly!
Are you a General Conference junkie? I also love to share great things I find to enhance my scripture study! Today I want to share 5 Inspiring ways to study General Conference talks using multiple learning styles (You can read more about learning styles and how they relate to scripture study here.) {DISCLAIMER:} Affiliate Links
A group of teenage boys captivated a crowd with a surprising and perfectly synchronized skit, showcasing the power of creativity and precision in performance.
Keep team members—internal and external—connected to important people and information. How? Create a group-connected SharePoint team site in Office 365 – and..
Classroom Display Inspiration Share your amazing classroom displays on social media and have them magically appear below!Regularly add your photos to this
It's getting to be that time of year again. Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs). I have to say that I love PTCs. Working at the school that I did, it might be the only time I ever saw and actually communicated with the parents of certain students. Yes it meant long days at the school and trying to find a nice way to say "YOU WANT TO SEE PROGRESS?!? TRY WORKING WITH YOUR CHILD AT HOME!!!", but it also meant that parents and I were coming together to try and help their child become better.
Learn how to make a DIY Outdoor Nativity Scene. It's a fun and festive way to enhance the Holiday spirit in your yard or neighborhood.
This blog post shares parent-teacher conference tips for helping 4th and 5th grade students with math at home. Free printables included!
You've probably seen them around every time a creative conference ends: beautifully hand-drawn notes that summarize big ideas using simple visuals. If
Even if you're a great teacher, even if you're a swell person most days, sometimes it all gets to be too much and you just snap.
Hi bloggy friends! Here's a quick post with two freebies for you. The first is what I called "Spooky Suffixes." We used these in a literacy center and the kiddos basically played Concentration with the cards. You could easily use the cards to play Suffix Go Fish or just a simple matching game. Spooky Suffixes The next is a graphic organizer that I typed for my students to use with the Someone, Wanted, But, So, Then Summarizing Strategy. I was introduced to this strategy by Kathy Bumgardner (http://kbumreading.com/) six or so years ago and it's the best thing I've found to help my students summarize fiction stories. Some of my students don't need the actual organizer and create their own but others benefit from the help of the premade organizer. Hopefully, some of your kiddos can use it too! Summarizing OrganizerIf you download either document, please leave a quick comment on how you plan to use (or even improve on my idea). I love to hear feedback! Thanks and have a terrific week!
Fall is almost here! Anyone else excited?! I must admit I am ready to put away my swimsuit and pull out my jeans and sweaters. Whether or not you can’t wait for those leave to start changing, fall offers some unique fellowship opportunities for your women. To fellowship outdoors. To gather and do all sorts…
